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Moscow:
The Kremlin on Monday denounced “absurd” makes an attempt accountable Russia for the alleged poisoning of opposition determine Alexei Navalny, as Europe considers whether or not to impose sanctions.
Navalny, a 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner and one in every of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, fell ailing on a home flight final month and was handled in a Siberian hospital earlier than being evacuated to Berlin.
Germany mentioned final week there was “unequivocal evidence” that Navalny had been poisoned with Novichok, the identical substance used within the 2018 assault on a former Russian double agent and his daughter within the English metropolis of Salisbury.
Navalny’s associates say using Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent, reveals that solely the Russian state might be accountable, however the Kremlin fiercely denies any involvement.
“Attempts to somehow associate Russia with what happened are unacceptable to us, they are absurd,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed journalists on Monday.
Russian officers have accused Germany of being gradual to share the findings of its investigation regardless of a request from prosecutors.
“We expect information (from Germany) to be provided in the coming days,” Peskov mentioned. “We are looking forward to it.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas mentioned Sunday that Berlin, which holds the rotating EU presidency, will focus on doable sanctions towards Russia if the Kremlin doesn’t quickly present a proof for what occurred to Navalny.
Otherwise, Germany can be compelled to “discuss a response with our allies” together with “targeted” sanctions, Maas mentioned.
He didn’t rule out motion regarding Nord Stream 2, a multi-billion-euro Russian-German fuel pipeline nearing completion.
– Pipeline in crosshairs –
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman mentioned Monday that she additionally wouldn’t rule out penalties for Nord Stream 2.
The 10 billion euro ($11 billion) pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea is ready to double Russian pure fuel shipments to Germany, Europe’s largest economic system.
It has lengthy been within the crosshairs of the United States, which has criticised European international locations for his or her reliance on vitality from Russia.
Western leaders have expressed horror at what Navalny’s allies say is the primary identified use of chemical weapons towards a high-profile opposition chief on Russian soil.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab mentioned Sunday that Russia had “a very serious set of questions to answer” and it was “clear” the Kremlin critic was poisoned with Novichok.
The Navalny poisoning is the newest in an extended collection of assassination makes an attempt towards Kremlin critics.
Already affected by wide-ranging Western sanctions imposed over its 2014 annexation of Crimea, in addition to the results of the coronavirus pandemic and the drop in oil costs, Moscow is anxious to keep away from any additional strain on its economic system.
Navalny fell ailing after boarding a aircraft in Siberia final month, with aides saying they think he drank a cup of spiked tea on the airport.
He was initially handled at a neighborhood hospital, the place medical doctors mentioned they had been unable to seek out any poisonous substances in his blood, earlier than he was flown to Berlin for specialised remedy on August 22.
The charismatic Yale-educated lawyer remains to be within the intensive care unit and stays on a ventilator.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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